


Am I Forgiven Yet?

by SakuraNights



Category: TOME: Terrain of Magical Expertise
Genre: A what-if scenario for the episode 15, Artwork at the end, Blood, Dramatic as hell, Gen, Grievous Injury, not meant to be shipping but i know how you people are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 10:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18341507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraNights/pseuds/SakuraNights
Summary: In the midst of Hell on Earth, Zetto's split-second decision has cost him everything.





	Am I Forgiven Yet?

**Author's Note:**

> An idea that hit me really, really hard yesterday. So hard, in fact, that I had to drop everything I was currently working on and start this one immediately.
> 
> Music inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeNA9xWJ1Gk

_Well. That’s not supposed to happen._

This was first coherent thought that ran through Zetto’s confused mess of a mind. Everything was blurry - a strange blend of vibrant colors - and he blinked a few times before his vision cleared enough to see what had just happened.

 

The first thing he noticed was blood, and a lot of it. An element that, thankfully, was not included in the final version of TOME, but was more than likely still embedded in the game’s code from the beta, added before he’d joined the dev team. Possibly targeted to more mature audiences at the time, but regardless, it still shouldn’t be here. He was very well acquainted with the game to know that much.

 

The second thing he noticed was a large spire, a spike of some kind that stood protruding from his chest. It glowed with that accursed virus’s design, so he decided that, then, was what was causing the bizarre alteration in his code.

 

Third, came a searing pain in the center of his body. It was debilitating, like his innards were set ablaze and were now trying to evacuate in any way they could, but he couldn’t even muster a scream. The breath wouldn’t come to him.

 

Finally, his focus landed on what was directly in front of- ...below him?

 

 

Alpha stared back, his blood-speckled face frozen in abject shock and horror.

 

_Oh shit._

 

 

He was quickly reminded of what occurred not even one minute ago. He truly hadn’t meant to take his eye off of the dangerous back and forth that Kajet and the Dragon Bug were playing at, but the moment he did, a sound that was all too close resonated in the air with a sharp crackle. The raging battle just behind them had grown uncontrollable, and a stray attack was heading straight for them now. Straight for Alpha, who would never see it coming.

“MICHAEL, MOVE!” A shout tore itself from his throat as his body moved without his command or hesitation, and shoved his friend as hard as he could.

Immediately afterward was a blank. He must have passed out to have forgotten so easily.

“Z…”

Zetto snapped back to the present situation. Alpha appeared at a loss for words, trying again and again to speak, but nothing ever came. He would just have to say something himself, then. And he tried, but a weak cough interrupted him. It was wet, and Alpha’s face contorted more. _What a strange reaction._

“Hey… you… okay?” he began, to which he received no response. Understandable, but it somehow frustrated him a little. “...Are you?” came a little bit stronger, and this time, his head nodded ever so slightly. At that, Zetto wanted to sigh with relief, but gasped with pain instead.

A small voice in the back of his head told him to hurry up, and he couldn’t help but wonder at that. Was he actually hurt in the real world? When dealing with the Forbidden Power, pain was no stranger to whoever was attacked by it. Surely, then, death was also entirely possible, right? He had once begged for it, after all.

“Listen,” he choked out, but Alpha hadn’t lost his attention for even a second. “You’re a… good person. You wanted friends, love, happi...ness. And I might’ve just….”

 _Get to the point, quickly,_ the voice urged as he felt ready to collapse at any given moment.

“...Might’ve… all but ripped it away. I’m sorry.” Zetto paused to take a breath. “But if I can do… one thing right… by you, as a friend… I hope this is enough.”

“You… I can’t lose anyone else,” Alpha’s voice emerged, barely a whisper. His head started to shake, not breaking eye contact. _God, are those tears in his eyes?_ At the same time, his own vision began blurring. Definitely not cool. He might’ve joked about the both of them being such saps, if he had the energy to. Instead, he offered what he hoped would be a cocky smirk, like he usually did, while being fully aware that the utter agony in his chest made it particularly difficult to hold up any sort of facade.

This was it, then.

The spire was suddenly wrenched free from his body - oddly, he didn’t feel a thing after that - and he found himself falling through open air while the world around him seemed to disappear. In the last second, he detected movement.

“ZET-”

The VR headset shattered when he finally hit the ground.

* * *

 

 


End file.
